It started when a post on Facebook caught my eye.
It was not the words that first drew my attention, but the image of a spiraling solar system. Then the photo’s caption piqued my interest further: The Most Astounding Fact.

Neil deGrasse Tyson was asked what he considered to be the most astounding fact about the universe. Given that this guy is an astrophysicist, his notion of “astounding” is probably pretty broad …. interest spiked.

His videotaped response fostered a cross-fire of connections in my mind between two very disparate thoughts: the Perennial Philosophy and one of my favorite bands of all time, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.

First, the Perennial Philosophy: the age-old axiom “As Above, So Below.” We see this idea played out in world religions, the practice of alchemy, the history of mythology, secular Qabalah, and pretty much any other conceptualization of how we got on this planet and what we’re doing here.

Simply put, it’s the idea that the force that rules the heavens is the same force that rules the physical plane; that the spiritual and the physical worlds are not distinct and separate entities but rather are mirrors of one another. Much of our everyday existence totally disregards this basic truth of nature.

And then we have one of the best rock bands ever, CSN and sometimes Y. These guys are cranking it out 40+ years later, yet their music strikes a poignant chord of wistfulness and hope from the 60’s when we still believed things could change. I saw this Neil deGrasse Tyson clip and all I could think of were the words to “Woodstock” … We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year-old carbon….

As above so below. True 43 years ago in Yazgur’s field, true tomorrow, true a million years ago, and true a million years from tomorrow.

When something is true, there’s just no escaping it. Watch the video and judge for yourself.